Under His Protection
by White Bliss
Summary: Battousai was given a mission to protect the daughter of an important member of the Ishin Shishi. But in reality...is it him who's protecting her from harm's way or is it her who's protecting his sanity? please rr!
1. New Mission 1

a/n: this is my first time writing a fanfic ever since AGES ago please r/r!

He pushed his feet off the ground harder with every step he took as he ran after his target. He turned sharply into an alley and stopped. It was a dead end. Battousai smirked. The predator had got the prey right where he wanted.

"You cannot run from your fate," Battousai got into his fighting stance. Before the man could answer, Battousai unsheathed his katana and used his speed to propel himself towards the man like a gust of wind. The man reached for his own sword, but it was too late. Blood poured from the man's heart as Battousai pulled his sword out of the body. The crimson red blood colored the fresh fallen snow. The red on white reminded him of his sorrowful memory. _Tomoe…I am sorry._ His hand wandered over his cross scar. Before he can dwell in his past anymore, one of the Ishin Shishi men came.

"What is it," Battousai asked coldly.

The man shuddered from the tone of Battousai's voice. "Katsura wants to see you immediately at the headquarters," he said meekly.

"I will return to the headquarters shortly. Tell Katsura that my mission is accomplished."

"Yes, sire." The man retrieved from the scene to go deliver his message.

Battousai walked up to the man lying on the floor. He knelt down in the pool of blood the dead man was bathing in. The blood emitted a foul smell ruining the clean winter air. _It seems like wherever I go, I bring the smell of blood with me._ He took his hand and moved it over the man's face to close the shock-stricken eyes. Then he got up and left for the headquarters.

"Welcome back." Katsura heard one of the men from downstairs greeting Battousai..

"He is here," he said.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked the man sitting across from Kastura.

"Yes, it'll do him some good. He needs remove himself from this bloody city before he loses his sanity."

The shoji screen opened and in stepped Battousai. He nodded at both men to as an acknowledgement of their prescence.

"You called for me Katsura," Battousai stated. Even when it comes to Katsura, Battousai is as cold as an icicle.

"Yes, Himura. I have another task for you although this one may be different from any other tasks that you have undertaken" said Katsura. He tried searching for any hint of emotion from Battousai but didn't find anything. _No emotion means he's okay with it._

Battousai did not say anything. He waited for Katsura to state what his new mission was. Perhaps it was another bloody massacre or another high official assassination. _It seems like there are always people waiting for me to wield my sword and show them to their deaths. _

"This man sitting here in the room with me is a very important man. He joined forces with us. With him by our side, we are one closer step towards the new era. He is a very talented and intelligent man," Katsura explained.

Battousai studied the man sitting in the room by Katsura. He was a man in his thirties. His face was filled with wisdom. He moved like a swordsman, meaning he could probably fight as well as strategize. There was no doubt that this man did hold some value for the Ishin Shishi.

"He had been reluctant to give us a helping hand because he was afraid for his family might get hurt. I have agreed to protect his family while he is away," said Katsura.. "Himura, as of now, the Ishin Shishi does not need your skills. We will not be fighting for a short time, so that we can come up with some plans and recruit more men. Your new mission is to go to Tokyo and protect Kamiya's family for the time being. When the plans are done, we will call for you. You will leave tomorrow"

a/n: I hope it wasn't that bad. Please tell me if I did anything wrong! I am open to criticism, but don't be too harsh. o.o


	2. New Misshion 2

a/n: thanks for the reviews! I will keep on writing regardless of how many reviews I get. I hope I get better! Enjoy!

My first draft. I was eager to keep on writing, so I didn't have the time to edit. Hahaha.

**Chapter 2: New Mission 2**

_Note:  
italics - thoughts  
_IIIIIIIIIII - _break_

Katsura walked out the meeting room with Kamiya. After Kamiya left for his room, Katsura walked to Battousai's room. Before Katsura even knocked on the door, Battousai slid the door open.

"Come in"

Katsura walked in and sat down in front of Battousai. He slid a letter to him. "This is a letter from Kamiya to his family." Battousai picked the letter up and placed it in his pocket.

"Why are you assigning me a babysitter's job," Battousai questioned. It wasn't really a question; it was more like a demand.

"I thought you might like a break from all this blood and gore."

"I don't need a break."

"Pouring buckets of water onto yourself won't wash the blood away," Katsura said calmly.

"Don't spy on me." Battousai seethed. The conversation was making Battousai pissed by the second. Seeing the hint of anger in his words, Katsura tried to soothe the tension.

"I don't spy on you Himura. It's a known fact around here. This is not a babysitter's job I'm giving you. Kamiya is an important man and his family needs protection. Our enemies will go through great extents to kill Kamiya's family. You're the only person I can trust for such an important job."

"Fine." Seeing that Battousai was as upset as before, but he was not satisfied. Katsura took his opportunity to leave when he heard someone calling for him from outside. He didn't want to deal with an unsatisfied Battousai.

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The next day...

_Just a few more miles before I reach the outskirts of Tokyo_. The sun was rising to its peak, lighting the whole forest up with its rays. The weather was warm to the skin. One can hear the slight rustle of trees as a gentle breeze passed by. Even the beautiful day could not lighten the heart of Battousai. He walked wearily on the old trodden path to Tokyo. He was not eager to start his new mission.

_I don't like the feeling of being so far away from the heart of the battle and so far from Tomoe…How long has it been? Months have passed by…maybe even a year since Tomoe's death. She was like the best friend…the sister that I never had. At one point, I thought I even liked her. For someone I cared about so much…I killed her with my own hands. Who the hell am I to have a right to do such thing? **I am the Battousai** of course…but what right do I have? Does a manslayer really have the right to slay a man? **It is my job…but where do I stop?** _

Battousai walked on thinking on the subject until he reached houses resting on the border of Tokyo. He carefully tipped his straw hat further down to cover his face so no one would see his face. His identity has been uncovered in Kyoto. Words traveled fast like a forest fire. Attracting attention would only make his job harder. He walked faster. Using the shadows of the building to his advantage, he slipped through streets and alleys until he found the location, Kamiya Dojo. _I am right; Kamiya does know how to fight. He shouldn't have to worry about the safety of his family. I am sure his sons will be able to protect the family quite well. I will go in and check on the family. Once I find out everything is secured, I will return to Kyoto immediately. ** After all, babysitting is not the Battousai's job. I don't protect; I destroy. **_He opened the gate and entered silently. The estate was big and roomy. He scanned the surroundings to detect any danger. Nothing. Just pure silence. Then suddenly a piercing shriek broke through the silence, "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Battousai had to cover his ears to prevent such a high pitch from blasting his eardrums. _Shit, I just came here and the Kamiya's are already in trouble. I shouldn't have spent too much time on the roads._ He ran to the source of the sound. He blasted through the screen door to find a girl strangling a little kid about 11 years old. They froze for a minute, both sides confused at what was happening. Then the girl took her hands away from the kid and screamed bloody murder.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN COME IN AND RUIN THIS PLACE!"

She pulled out her bokken and raised it to attack the intruder. She put all her energy into the attack, but all she sliced through was air. The intruder disappeared with a blink of an eye. She was shocked to feel a ki behind her. She turned around quickly to attack again but froze in her tracks as she locked eyes with the intruder. His eyes were glistening amber; they were cold and menacing. She tried to move but she couldn't. His eyes locked onto hers, daring her to make a move. Out of fury from his challenging eyes, she struck out at him. He detected the attack immediately and he used his sword to strike her wrist. The bokken fell out of her hands as she fell onto the floor in pain.

"You're so damn lucky that I didn't pull my sword out of my sheath or else your hands would have been detached from you body," Battousai said. "And you, the little punk, save your energy and don't try to attack me from the back, or you'll face a greater punishment than this girl right here." The little kid backed off immediately. He looked helplessly at the girl lying on the floor.

To Battousai's surprise, the girl got up and picked up her bokken. With eyes determined to defeat him, she stood in her fighting stance again.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" she spat out. "We don't have any gold or valuable goods that you would want. So leave!"

"I was sent here by the owner of this dojo to protect the inhabitants living here," he said curtly. He didn't want to go into further details with such a brash girl.

"My father?" She asked.

"How the hell am I suppose to know?" he replied coarsely. He was getting annoyed by the second. _This is worst than I thought_.

"So why should I believe you?" she questioned. "For all I know, you're just some stranger trying to come here to hurt my brother and me. You might just be pretending"

"I don't lie," he said coldly. His brows furrowed and his eyes turned into slits.

The girl took a step back from his cold exterior. _I think I just pissed him off… _

Remembering that he had a letter from Kamiya, Battousai fished it out of his pocket. "Here." He handed the letter to the girl. She took the letter and started reading. Battousai studied her eyes carefully; they were a deep shade of blue. Staring into her eyes was like looking into the ocean. He was so mesmerized by the emotions playing in her eyes as she read the letter; it was a mixture of happiness and sadness with a hint of curiosity. He didn't know such emotions could exist all at once in the person's eyes. She folded the letter carefully.

"Come," she said, walking out of the dining room. Battousai quirked one of his eyebrows up…wondering if he should follow or not. He decided to avoid conflict with the girl as much as possible even though he thought she looked so lively when she was mad. _So lively that it was kinda cute._ He followed her closely. Then she stopped in front of a shoji door and slid it open.

"This will be your room. It is across from my brother and my room. If you need anything, you tell my brother." She explained.

"Are you the only two who live in this place?" he inquired.

"Yes," she answered.

_Shit, I guess my plan won't work after all. That little punk I saw in the dining room earlier couldn't protect the girl and himself for shit. Although this girl can fight somewhat, she won't be able to fight against a person skilled with a real sword. Why can't Kami just be nice to me once and let me get off easy? _

"My name is Kamiya Kaoru. The kid you saw me with earlier was my brother, Yahiko. May I ask what's your name?" She shook him out of his brooding state of mind. Usually, no one would ask for his name, because at first glance, one would know he was the Battousai. _Is she really that stupid to not know who I am?_

"People call me Battousai."

She looked at him with wide eyes. At first, Battousai saw fear. Then he saw her smiled at him. Bewildered by her actions, he furrowed his brow. _She's not afraid of me? Not afraid that I'll make blood rain on her dojo? _

"Welcome to the Kamiya residence."

That was the first welcome he has ever gotten in his life. No one had ever welcomed him anywhere. Who welcomes death? Certainly, Battousai was confused with her gesture, but it made him smile inwardly that someone was actually nice to him. She was not being nice out of fear like everyone else he met. This girl…Kaoru, showed no sign of fear after the first few seconds. She was definitely unique. _Maybe this mission won't be so bad after all.  
_

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a/n: I wanted to get some fighting action in here, but this chapter was getting too long. I decided to wait until the next chapter. Yes, I know, there isn't that much sappy love stuff in this chapter. Kenshin is barely getting to know this girl! I promise there will be lots of loving going on in the next few chapters! Please bear with me. . I really want to develop their relationship before I get into the googly love eyes part. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter so far! I promise better chapters with action and love in them later on!


	3. At the Market

a/n: Alrighty, I couldn't help but to keep on writing! Hehehe. I'm going to make my chapters longer now. nods nods Enjoy! There's finally some sappy stuff in this chapter!

Notes: ……. Are used as breaks now because the IIIIII looks ugly. ;; other than that, enjoy!

Chapter 3: At the Market

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"Dinner is ready," Kaoru announced. Yahiko made a gagging noise as she placed the so called "food" on the table. "If you don't like the food Yahiko-CHAN, you can go starve yourself."

"Don't you dare call me Yahiko-chan! It's Yahiko! Yahiko, busu!" he yelled on top of his lungs.

"THAT'S IT. You will have to clean scrub the floors tomorrow, clean the bathhouse, AND do 500 strikes!" Kaoru exclaimed. "One more word from you and it'll be 1,000!"

"You can't do that you old-hag!"

"2,000."

"What! Forget you. I'm not gonna go through food poisoning AND do all those chores. If I'm going to have to all those things tomorrow, I might as well eat well. I'm going to Akabeko. At least I know I won't die from eating there!"

"Heh, yeah right. You just want to go there to meet your little Tsubame." Kaour laughed at Yahiko. Heat began to rise to Yahiko's cheeks.

"That's not true! Just because Tsubame looks so much better than you. I can't help it I want to stare at a pretty face and not at an ugly one like yours!" he said. Before Kaoru could make a comeback, Yahiko ran out of the dining room leaving a whirlwind behind. As Yahiko ran out the dojo, he saw the Battousai coming towards him. He stopped in his tracks.

"Where are you going?" Battousai demanded.

"Out…out" squeaked Yahiko. Battousai just stared at Yahiko with his amber eyes. It was not a good enough answer for Battousai. If that little punk got into trouble, he would have to go and save his butt. Battousai was in no mood to be a superhero. He has been out all day trying to contact an Ishin Shishi. No luck found. Although Tokyo was a blooming city, none of his members could be found settling there. Yahiko could barely sum up all his courage to give Battousai an answer when those violent amber eyes stared at him, "I'm…going out to…to eat…at a friend's…busu cooked…" Battousai stared at him some more without giving Yahiko any approval or disapproval of going. _I know I can't keep them inside forever. These crazy kids will drive me insane. _

Then Battousai suddenly said, "Be back in two hours. Don't make me go look after you." Yahiko ran right when he got the Battousai's approval. Battousai continued to walk to the dojo and entered the dining hall where he saw Kaoru munching away on her dinner. Kaoru looked at him and gestured him to sit with her for dinner. He took a seat across from her and looked at the food placed on the table. _What the heck is that…is that over-fried vegetables? What's that glob of brown stuff over there? Meat?_ Looking at the food made Battousai slightly scared. _Maybe I should've followed the little punk_.

Battousai slowing picked up his chopsticks. _I should just eat rice…I can't go wrong on rice._ Boy was he wrong. Right when he placed a small sample of rice into his mouth and started chewing, he could hear the crunching noise the rice made against the grinding of his teeth. He could feel his teeth chipping from the hardness of the rice. Battousai noticed a pair of eyes examining him. Kaoru was trying to find some sort of reaction on his face. He didn't want her to feel bad, so he gulped down the rice. He then took a piece of over-fried vegetable and popped it into his mouth. Then he got a piece of the mystery meat. As he swallowed the food down, he could feel his stomach churning in pain. _Note to self: Never EVER let the girl cook while I'm here_.

"Do you like it?" Kaoru asked timidly. Battousai could detect a hint of sadness in her question. He looked up at her. Her eyes were watery; tears were waiting to spill. He hated to see girls cry; he never knew what to do. Trying to such a situation, he replied dryly, "It's edible." He didn't know what to say. Looking into her deep blue eyes made mind stop working. He was stuck. Lying was not an option and telling her the truth would just cause her to cry, which is something he cannot deal with. So he settled for something in between. Hopefully, she'll let that slide.

Fortunately, she didn't press him further. Instead, she beamed at him. Her face glowed with happiness and her smile was a mile wide. All her worries were gone.

"I knew it! My cooking isn't bad at all! If you like it, then it's good! Even the Battousai likes my cooking! Yahiko just doesn't know how to appreciate the good stuff!" she piped. "Since you like my cooking so much, I will cook for you everyday!"

_Oh no…what have I done_. Battousai mentally smacked himself in the head. _This girl is gonna kill me. _

They finished eating silently together. Then Kaoru got up and started to clean the table. She went over to Battousai's side to clean up his dishes. Standing closely by him, Battousai could smell Kaoru's intoxicating scent of jasmine. It made him shudder inwardly. He tried to clear his mind by taking a sip of tea. He reached for the cup just when Kaoru was picking it up. Their hands touched gently. Battousai looked up and he saw Kaoru's face flushed with embarrassment. He immediately withdrew his hand. Kaoru continued picking up the rest of the utensils. Just as he turned away from him to walk to the kitchen, Kaoru accidentally walked onto her kimono. With the dishes in her hands, she tried to regain her balance but failed, and she fell back onto Battousai. Battousai was surprised to see Kaoru on his laps all of a sudden. He looked down at her. Kaoru avoided eye contact; she looked at the floor. She was red like a tomato. Battousai was not prepared for her sudden movement to climb out of Battousai's lap. Her hands were placed on his thighs as she tried to get herself up. Trying furiously to make an attempt to get up made her slip and fall back onto his laps again. By now, Battousai was too shock to make any moves. He looked at her with wide eyes as her hands accidentally slipped onto his inner thighs touching his unmentionable. Kaoru did not know what she was touching or doing as she made another desperate attempt to get up. She finally got up and started to pat her kimono. Her back was turned towards Battousai, so she did not Battousai's cheeks tinted with a slight hint of red. She didn't turn towards him. Instead she knelt down and started picking up the fragments of the broken dishes.

She was too embarrassed to look at him. All she could do was mumbled, "Sorry." She left for the kitchen immediately, leaving Battousai in his shocked state. He shook his head, trying to get back to normal. _This place and these people here are going to drive me crazy!_ Not wanting to stay in the room any longer, Battousai got up and headed for his room. On his way there, he saw Yahiko opening the gates. _That brat is late. _ He sat with his back leaning against the wall. He propped one of his leg up and leaned his katana onto his leg. He dropped his head and closed his eyes to get some rest.

Several minutes into his resting, he heard the pitter-patter of rain. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. From light to harsh, the rain began to beat against the roof with a violent rhythm. _It was raining just like this when I met Tomoe…"You made it rain blood." That I did…_ He looked out and saw blood raining down on the earth instead water. He kept looking at the red rain drops. Images began to flash through his head; they were images of him killing people. Slice after slice, thrust after thrust, the men fell on their knees in front of Battousai. The last image Battousai saw was the image of his best friend, Tomoe on sprawled on the fresh blanket of snow. Her blood tainted the fresh snow. _We could have started a new life...The snow are here to clean the impurities away. We could have started over…"You looked so happy like this…not killing."_ Battousai gripped tightly onto his katana. _I can't start over. Not after killing you._ _A second chance is too much to ask for…I don't deserve it. _At this thought, Battousai closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. He must stop himself from feeling any self-pity. There was no point in feeling sorry for himself. He has made his decision, and that is to kill to bring a better future for the people of Japan.

Battousai closed his eyes at that thought, but he was disturbed by something else. It was the scent of jasmine lingering on his clothes. He could feel Kaoru's body against his and how her hair tickled his chest…how her hands moved across his thighs. She looked so innocent and beautiful. She had no idea what kind of feelings she caused Battousai to feel. Desire. It was hard to prevent any provocative thoughts forming in his mind when their bodies were so close to each other. No woman has ever made Battousai feel desire coursing through his body like the way Kaoru made him feel. Sure he was the Battousai. He could get any woman he wanted. He could release his sexual desires any time he wanted. Those women were nothing but sex slaves in Battousai's mind. Kaoru, however, was something different. She invoked something else in Battousai's heart…something he has never felt before. He could not quite put his finger on what this feeling was. This troubled his mind greatly indeed. Battousai shook his head furiously as if doing so would shake all this thoughts away. His eyes closed once again and drifted to sleep.

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"Where are you going?" Battousai jumped off the tree and intercepted Kaoru from getting pass the gate. He stood only several inches away from Kaoru. His penetrating eyes stared right down at her, trying to strike fear at her heart. Unfortunately for Battousai, Kaoru was not in a good mood today.

"None of your business," Kaoru grumbled.

"Answer me," he scowled.

"Out," she replied.

"Don't be smart with me," he seethed. Kaoru response was getting on Battousai's nerves. Never in his life did he have someone treat him like the way Kaoru was treating him. First she was nice to him; now she's giving him an attitude! Girls can be so strange indeed.

"I'll come with you," he said. He started to open the gates when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and found a fuming Kaoru in front of him. _What is up with this girl. I don't know why I even bother dealing with her. _

"Look, you can go watch Yahiko. **I can protect myself**," she argued. Battousai grunted. _This girl looks more like a troublemaker than Yahiko does. _

"Let's go," he ordered. He grabbed Kaoru's arm and pulled her roughly. "We better start going before the rain arrives." As Battousai said that, he looked up into the sky to see a sheet of dark gray clouds heading towards them.

The two of them walked silently together. Kaoru was deep in thought. She can't help it that Yahiko nasty comments got to her.

Earlier that day, Kaoru woke up to the sweet aroma of food. Surprised that someone was already up and cooking, she got dress and went to the kitchen. She was shocked that it was the Battousai standing in her kitchen. He nodded at her and continued cooking. When breakfast was served at the table, Yahiko dove into the food. He gobbled his food so fast that both Kaoru and Battousai looked astonished when he did not choke on the food. After finishing his meal, Yahiko started to talk about what a horrible cook Kaoru was and how she wasn't even a girl. Kaoru jumped over the table and tried to strangle Yahiko, but he was smart enough to dart away and ran for his life. As he ran for his life, his last words were, "It's true UGLY! No one will ever marry you because of your ugliness and unladylike gestures!" This left Kaoru fuming. She had no way to let her anger out. There was no one there for her to beat up. She looked at Battousai, hoping that he would say her cooking wasn't that bad. He continued eating calmly as if nothing had happened in silence. He didn't even look up from his bowl. This pissed Kaoru off even more. She stood up and left to her room where she stayed for several hours. When she finally emerged from her room to go buy tofu, she encountered Battousai, and now they're going to the market together. _I can't help it if my mom was never around to teach me how to act like a proper lady! Even the Battousai is a better cook than I am…sigh…I guess I am really that bad. I wish I was more ladylike so that—_

"It's not that bad." Battousai words broke Kaoru from her brooding. Not quite understand what he meant by his words, she stop and looked at him quizzically. Battousai never turned around to face her. Instead, he kept on walking.

"Your cooking," he finally said. Battousai didn't know what to say to her earlier when they were eating breakfast together. He knew he was suppose to say something, but he was at a lost of words. He never knew the right words to say to make a person feel better. Not wanting to lie to her and say her cooking was spectacular…or even decent, he decided to tell that her cooking isn't that bad the next time he sees her. And now was the time.

Surprise was written all over Kaoru's face. She smiled softly at Battousai's back. _No one has ever said my cooking wasn't so bad…not even –_

"WATCH OUT! The Shinsengumi is coming!" screamed a man several hundred feet away from the two.

Shit, we need to hide. I can't let the Mibu Wolves find me here or else Kaoru and Yahiko will be endangered. With that thought ringing in his head, he wrapped his arms around Kaoru's waists and picked her up. He fled to the nearest shadowed alley. Kaoru squirmed in his grasp. She wanted to scream but Battousai's hand was over her mouth.

"Shh. Don't attract attention or you and your brother will be in grave danger" he whispered into her ear. Kaoru could feel his hot breath on her skin. It made her shiver at the thought that he was so close. Kaoru was engulfed by his scent. _Mmm…he smells like woods and spice._ She looked up at him. His face showed no sign of emotion, but his eyes were mixed with concern and protectiveness.

"Stop!" yelled one of the Shinsengumi. Battousai narrowed his eyes. _That voice…_

"What's wrong," asked one of the other men.

"I smell blood," the former said. "Search the crowd to see if any suspicious men are around. If so, eliminate them!"

_That voice belongs to Saitou Hajime_. Battousai held Kaoru closer to him. _Shit…how the hell am I suppose to get out of this without putting her in danger._ He looked at Kaoru; she looked at him back. No words need to be spoken. Both knew they were in trouble. Then they heard one of the Shinsengumi moving towards them. He looked no older than 15 years old. The sword held in his hand trembled; he could not handle the weight. He was closing in and both Kaoru and Battousai knew they need to do something. In Battousai's mind, he thought of killing the kid and run. One of his hands dropped to his sword. Seeing his movements, Kaoru knew exactly what Battousai was thinking of, and she didn't' want to see him kill. Immediately, she jumped out of his arms, which caused a great commotion. The kid turned to towards their direction.

"Who's there?" he asked meekly. He inched forward.

At that moment, before Battousai could do anything, Kaoru cups his face with both her hands and kissed him. She pressed her lips onto his lightly. Battousai's eyes popped wide open. What the hell is she thinking! He tried move his head away but she held his head firmly in place. She then snaked one of her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She pushed him to the wall, trapping him from going anywhere. The kid walked towards them. Seeing that it was just a couple kissing in the alley, he walked away. He returned to the pack of Shisengumi and told them that he did not find anything. Saitou furrowed his eyebrows. "Let's go!" The Shisengumi kept walking and left the market.

Realizing what Kaoru's plan was, Battousai smirked. _If she wants to go that route…_ He licked Kaoru's lips and then bit them gently. It was Kaoru's turn to pop her eyes wide open. Shocked by his actions, she backed away from him. Her cheeks were flushed and she stood there dumbfounded. Trying to hide her embarrassment, Kaoru went into her angry violent mode.

"What the hell do you think you were doing!" she yelled. Out of nowhere, she whipped out her bokken and tried to hit Battousai with it. Battousai dodged the attack easily. She kept on trying to hit him. One strike after another, he dodged all of them. Kaoru was furious at him. The more he avoided her attacks, the more she wanted to him HARD. She used all her strength on her last attack. Battousai did not move this time. He stood there waiting for the bokken to hit him. Kaoru thought she got him this time. Instead of hitting him, Battousai was holding onto the bokken with one of his hands.

"Let me remind you: you were the one who kissed me first," he said. He smirked at her. Battousai knew Kaoru couldn't argue with him on that. Kaoru's face was red again. He was right, and that made her feel even more embarrassed. Suddenly, a speck of water fell onto her face. Then a few more specks. It was raining. Then the light rain turned into a heavy shower.

"We have to get going," he said. With that said, the two began to hurry back to the dojo. It was hard for Kaoru to walk at Battousai's pace. Her kimono was stuck to her skin and her sandals were getting stuck into the muddy road. One of her foot fell into a deep muddy part of the road. She was ankle deep in. Kaoru tried pulling herself out, but failed. Then she saw a hand in front of her. She looked up and saw Battousai reaching out to her. Kaoru placed her hand gently on his, and he took hold of it. He pulled her out of the deep puddle of mud and held her hand all the way home. On the outside, it seemed like he was being nice and just wanted to prevent her from falling again. However, in Battousai's mind, thoughts raced across his head. He felt a warm sensation running through his body as he held her hands, and she too felt the same way. Both were confused at what they were feeling. They kept silent as they walked all the way back to the Kamiya residence.

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a/n: hahah how do you guys like this chapter! Prepare yourself for the next chapter when Battousai finally notices how Kaoru's wet kimono stuck onto her body! Other characters will appear in the next chapter too. Hehehehe.


	4. New Faces

Hey everyone! Sorry that I took so long to update. I just didn't know where to go with this story, but I think I have a clue now! Thanks for the reviews you guys. I love all you reviewers! Now here is the new chapter. Some characters are surfacing in this story, but can you guess **who**? Enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: New Faces  
**

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By the time the two have reached the gates of the dojo, they were a wet mess. Kaoru sneezed softly. It was then that Battousai let go of her hands and turned around to face her. He stopped Battousai took in the image of Kaoru before him. Her kimono stuck to her body like a second skin accentuating all her curves. A barely audible growl escaped Battousai's mouth. Kaoru was so tempting. He didn't know such lustful feelings could exist in him. His body burned with desire to take her right then and there.

Kaoru's face flushed. She had her eyes averted to somewhere else; she knew the Battousai was looking at her. Right then, Battousai pushed her back onto a wooden beam and he started to kiss her fervently. Shocked by his actions, Kaoru stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to do. Battousai trailed his kisses from her face to her neck. There he stopped and start nibbling at the base of her neck. Kaoru moaned. He slowly moved his hands up to her breasts and parted the wet material from her smooth silky skin. The warm rough hands running smoothly around her breasts shocked Kaoru back to reality. She struggled to push him away, but Battousai secured himself by pushing her against the beam even harder. She pushed forward trying to get him off of her, but it only aroused Battousai even more. At one point, Kaoru stopped when she felt something hard against her stomach. Her pushing against his body only aroused him even more. She finally knew why Battousai didn't resist her from pushing against him. He was enjoying it all along. She didn't know what to do, so she took a bite on Battousai's neck. Battousai took a step back from the surprise. With this opening, Kaoru darted to her room and slammed the door shut.

Battousai stood there. _What the hell was I thinking? I can't do this while I'm on a mission! Plenty of other women will go for me if she doesn't._ But that's the thing. Kaoru was different from other woman. _Damn that girl for causing me all these problems. _

From the corner of this eye, Battousai could see Yahiko approaching him_. What does this kid want now! _He was already having a hard time with the Kaoru, and now he has to deal with her younger brother. What a day…

"Hey busu," yelled Yahiko as he came closer. "My stomach is growling! I need food! Come out here and get me something to eat! Not only that, you have to finish laundry!"

There was no answer.

"Hey say—"

Yahiko was just about to rap on the shoji and make Kaoru come out when an arm reached out and stopped him from doing so.

"Your sister isn't feeling well. She needs some rest. I'll cook and finish the rest of the chores up," he said.

"Fine with me. As long as I don't have to eat the busu's cooking."

"You should watch your mouth," Battousai said coldly. With that said, Battousai left Yahiko standing in front of Kaoru's room.

"Why does he care," mumbled Yahiko as he walked away to tend his own matters before lunch starts.

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"I don't care," Battousai scowled, chopping those poor vegetables furiously_. I don't care about her or anything that has to deal with her. The only thing I probably want from her is a good time in bed; it's all lust and no love…right! She probably has never slept with anyone before._ Bouttsai grinned evilly. _Maybe I can teach her a thing or two…No! I cannot do this._ Another side of Battousai argued that a girl as innocent and beautiful as she is doesn't deserve him. _Screw her innocence_ Battousai argued back as he tried to fight his good side off. Throughout the whole cooking process, Battousai kept on arguing with himself. When lunch was ready, he pushed his thoughts away and called everyone to eat. Yahiko came to the table within a heartbeat. He started chowing down on the food immediately. All Battousai could do was stare at the speed the kid was consuming his food. _That kid is going to choke and die someday at the rate he eats… _Another thought struck Battousai's mind. _Where is Kaoru?_ Battousai figured she was probably still in her room, so he went to call her for lunch. He knocked on the shoji lightly. He could hear some light shuffling around. He waited for a minute. Kaoru hasn't said a thing. Battousai's patience was wearing thin. He knocked on the shoji harder this time.

"Lunch is ready."

"By not answering you earlier was a sign that I didn't want to eat. I'm not hungry. Leave me alone," she said with a slight hint of anger in her voice.

"Fine, go starve yourself," he scoffed and padded away.

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Kaoru sure didn't mind starving herself as long as she didn't have to face him. _That jerk…he thinks he can do anything just because he's the Battousai. But Battousai isn't a jerk all the time. There are times when he seemed genuinely nice and caring…like that time when he offered his hand. _His eyes were so captivating that they stole Kaoru's breath away when she raised her eyes to his glinting gold eyes. He may be mean at times, but deep down, he's definitely not the cold-blooded manslayer. No, he's not. He was definitely something more than the Battousai role that he played. It barely came across Kaoru's mind that she didn't know Battousai's real name, and that bother her quite a bit. Calling someone a manslayer all the time isn't that polite. Plus, she's very curious about him. He seemed so much more than what he appears to be, and Kaoru wanted to find out everything about him. Thinking so hard made Kaoru tired, so she decided to take a nap

When Kaoru finally woke up, dinner time has passed. Her stomach growled like a tiger. Now that Kaoru thought of it, she didn't eat lunch or dinner. Another rumble came from her stomach. Her tummy cannot take it anymore, so Kaoru got up and headed to the kitchen to see what she can cook up…or try to cook up.

Kaoru walked outside. The night was extremely peaceful. The after-rain smell hung around the air, tingling Kaoru's noise. Yahiko's snore could be heard every now and then. She looked at the room across from hers where Battousai resides. She hoped he was asleep by now so that she didn't have to see him. Talking to him is a hard feat. After what has happened, Kaoru doesn't know how to act around him. _Should I be mad? Should I act as if nothing has happened? Why should I even care? That's right. I shouldn't care. Forget this, I'm hungry. _Kaoru finally reached the kitchen. To her surprise, there was a dinner saved for her. At first, she thought it was so sweet of Yahiko to save her some dinner, but she knew Yahiko way better than that. Yahiko isn't that considerate. The next person that popped into her head was Battousai. Kaoru took a look at the dinner; her tummy gave a loud growl. Not wanting to think anymore, Kaoru decided to focus on satisfying her tummy instead.

"I didn't expect you to be this hungry. If you want more food, I can cook some more."

The voice startled Kaoru. It was a quiet, but serious voice. She nearly dropped her bowl of rice and choked on the food she was swallowing. The voice came from the person she dreaded to see. Things just never seem to go her way.

He watched her closely, waiting for her to say something…anything. Battousai felt really out of place leaning on the kitchen door, watching Kaoru eat. He felt like he has to do something, but he didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry for the event that took place earlier," he blurted. That was the thing he wanted to do: to apologize. Being the Battousai that he was, he shouldn't have acted out like that. He was known to be unemotional and lack any kind of feelings. There was no way a girl like Kaoru could turn him into an emotional mess that he was. No, Battousai refused to believe it. Instead, he blamed it on not being around women for such a long time. Battousai did not remember when was last time he has been with a woman. With that in mind, he convinced himself since Kaoru was the only girl he's been with after so long, it is only natural for him to feel these sexual urges resurfacing. _But that doesn't explain why you care about her. Shut up._ Battousai shook his head to clear his thoughts. _Stupid conscience. _

"Umm…It's okay," replied Kaoru. Her voice shook Battousai out of his stupor. He's been standing there for several minutes just staring into nothing. He finally focused his eyes and came back to reality.

"Well…I should get some sleep now," mumbled Kaoru. "Good night…"

Battousai could tell that Kaoru was struggling to say something. Her mouth twitched slightly and she furrowed her brows. _Adorable…_ Battousai had his lips turned up to a small smile, a true smile that hasn't been on his face for years.

"What is it that?" he asked. His voice came out a little harsher than he expected. Kaoru looked at him with surprise and confusion mixed together on her face.

"Huh?" Clearly, Kaoru had no idea what he was talking about.

"What is it that you want to say," Battousai uttered every word out slowly and clearly as if speaking to a child.

"How dare you treat me like I'm stupid!" exclaimed Kaoru. Out of nowhere, a bokken appeared in her hands and she flung it at Battousai. He was able to avoid the bokken a second before it was too late.

"I was merely asking you what is it that you wanted to say!" Battousai explained as he tried to avoid Kaoru's oncoming attack.

"Well, you don't have to say it in that tone of voice! I was trying to muster up the courage and the right words to ask you for you name! That was all. I'm sorry if I was a little preoccupied, because I am after all dealing with someone who is very hard to work with…YOU!"

What Kaoru said stopped Battousai on his tracks. No one has ever asked him for his name. He never told anyone before. He almost forgot his own name at one point after being known as the Battousai. He went by the name Battousai for so long that it was hard to think of himself with a different identity. Battousai…the manslayer. That is who I am…the person that makes it rain blood…the person who killed his closest companion…

WHACK

Too late, he was unable to avoid the last strike. Kaoru hit him on the forehead with her bokken.

"Oro…" Battousai had the daylights knocked out of him.

"Oro? Now since, you're so disrespectful to not give me your name, I'm just going to call you Oro from now on. Good night Oro-chan." Kaoru dusted herself and headed to out of the kitchen.

"Kenshin"

Kaoru stopped a few steps away from him. She turned around and looked at him.

"My name is Himura Kenshin," he said. He didn't know why he told her his name. Maybe there's a part inside of him that needs someone to know who he REALLY is. _Nah…_he thought. _I just don't want to be called Oro-chan_.

"Alright. Good night Kenshin," Kaoru said softly. She smiled at Kenshin and walked to her room. _Kenshin…what a beautiful name. It fits him perfectly…the heart of the sword._

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Kenshin sat at the corner of the dojo and watched Kaoru practiced with Yahiko. It was a new day and Kaoru was acting like nothing has happened. Everything was back to normal again and Kenshin was glad. He gazed at Kaoru. He watched every moment she made; it was like a captivating dance. Kenshin couldn't get his eyes off her. The way her long lush hair swung with her body, her slightly flushed cheeks, and the warm glow that exudes from her face made her look like a goddess. Kenshin's thoughts were cut off shortly when he felt a ki outside the dojo. Not wanting to worry Kaoru and Yahiko, he excused himself by saying he needed to get some tofu for lunch. He picked up the tofu bucket on his way out to the dojo. The ki he felt earlier was getting closer as he reached the gates. He slowly opened the gates and found no one around.

"Come out now before my blade finds itself in your heart," Kenshin said taking a few steps forwards.

A figure jumped down from a nearby tree; it was a messenger from the Ishin Shishi. The messenger looked quite scared, and who wouldn't be when facing the Battousai? Kenshin sighed inwardly. The messenger was too scared to even say word.

"Say it," Kenshin prompted.

"K-Katsura wants to see you. He's at a nearby temple not too far from here."

Kenshin nodded at the man to let him lead the way. While Kenshin make his way to Katsura, he couldn't help but wonder what was so important that would make Katsura himself come here.

After walking for about a mile, the temple was now visible to Kenshin. A few minutes later, he was walking up the stairs to meet Katsura. Kenshin slid the shoji doors open to the room where Katsura was in. He walked in slowly and closed the door securely shut behind him. Katsura had his back turned to Kenshin. He was looking out the window, deep in thought.

"You wanted to see me, Katsura," Kenshin simply stated to let Katsura acknowledge his presence in the room. Katsura finally turned to Kenshin.

"Indeed," Katsura frowned. It was not often that Kenshin was greeted with a frown on Katsura's face. Something must be bad.

"I have some bad news for you, Himura," Katsura said. "There is news that there is someone plotting an attack on the dojo. We are still trying to figure who and eliminate them. But as of right now, Kamiya-san's daughter is in danger, and we need you to be on full alert. When we find out more about this person, we'll contact you immediately."

"Hai. I will return to my duty now." With that, Kenshin left the room. Many thoughts were running through his head as he tried to get himself together. First off, he was afraid of Kaoru's safety. Second, he wanted to find whoever this person is and cut his head off. How dare he try to involve an innocent girl such as Kaoru into his evil scheme to get to Kamiya-san. For the past few days that he has been in the dojo, Kenshin has lived a normal life. He almost forgot that he was the Battousai at times. Now, he was thrown back to reality with this ill news. Kenshin cursed himself for actually thinking that things will get better soon when in fact, they are not. The sun slowly began to set. The day was getting late; soon, night will fall. Kenshin still needs to purchase the tofu, so he hurried himself to the market.

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Kaoru furrowed her eyebrows as she watch the sun slowly beginning to set. _Where is he?_ Kenshin has left the dojo to get tofu a few hours ago and he's still not back yet. Kaoru was getting worried. She's been sitting on the porch (is that what you call it?) of the dojo waiting for his return. Not wanting to wait any longer, Kaoru decided to go out and search for Kenshin herself.

"I'm going to go look for Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled. Before Yahiko could answer, she left the dojo and headed to the market.

When Kaoru reached the market, there were only a few stores left that was open. Everyone was getting ready to go home and have dinner. Her eyes scanned the crowd for the red-headed swordsman, but he was not to be found. She asked the tofu vendor if a red-headed man came by to buy some tofu. The vendor shook his head to answer: negative. Kaoru dropped her head in defeat. _When Kenshin gets home, he's going to have hell for making me run around to look for him!_ Kaoru fumed.

She turned around and started her way towards home when she heard a cry from an alley nearby. Being the curious person that she is, Kaoru ran to the source of the outcry to find a little boy sprawled on the ground with a man hovering over him with a whip.

"You little punk! I told you to go to the market to buy a barrel of rice, not a bucket!" yelled the man.

"Y…you…only gave me…enough for…a..bucket..uncle," the boy gasped. He held on to his ribs, breathing heavily. His eyes were watery, but he tried to blink back his tears.

"FOOL! Do you not know how to barter for a better deal!" The man lifted his whip again, ready to crack it on the boy's back, but Kaoru came in to interfere with this horrid sight. She smacked her bokken on the man's wrist, which made him drop the treacherous thing onto the ground.

"How dare you hit your nephew like that!"

"You little bitch, don't make me show you your place in this world. Go home and cook some dinner women. This is none of you business."

"It is my business if you're mistreating other people!" she yelled. Kaoru got into her fighting stance, holding her bokken up ready for another attack. The man gave Kaoru a crooked grin. He gave a loud whistle. Within a matter of a few seconds, a group of men appeared from the shadows before him. There were about twenty or so men standing behind him.

"Please miss…go..before you…get……hurt," whispered the little boy by Kaoru's side.

"Never! I will not leave you like this," she replied. She knew she can't fight all twenty men, but she has to try. Someone was in need for her help, and she can't just walk away.

"Hey, look at this little party here," someone said. A man with spiky brown hair with a red bandana on his head walked into the alley. He chewed on a fish-bone, smiling at a group of men.

"Aren't you guys ashamed of yourselves that you need such a big group of people to hurt this jou-chan here?" he cockily said.

Then men seethed with anger. Then the uncle of the little boy signaled to attack. Kaoru and the brown-haired man ran to attack as well. Kaoru fought off the men one by one, while the other guy used his fists to knocked the other men out. While Kaoru was fighting having a little bit of a hard time with the uncle holding the whip, another man sneaked up on her with his sword ready to slash her from the back. The brown-haired man noticed the glint of the sword from the corner of his eye. He quickly ran towards the girl, but time was running out. So, he threw himself at the girl to pushed her away, while in the meantime taking the blow. The blade caught his left shoulder and left a large wound. He fell on top of Kaoru on the ground. Kaoru tried to shake off the shock she received. Her eyes widened at the immense amount of blood coming out of the man that tried to save her.

"Run, jou-chan," the guy murmured. "I'll try to fend them off for as long as I can, so that you can escape." Tears were begging to fall from Kaoru's eyes. She didn't intend on someone getting hurt in order to try and save her. Anger and fear stirred in Kaoru's body. She has to fight. It is impossible for her to leave the guy behind with these ruffians. There was no way he could fight as well as he can with that left shoulder.

The guy stood up ready to and held his fists up, ready to attack again. Kaoru picked herself up as well and got into a fighting stance. The guy looked at her with bewilderment in his eyes.

"I said run missy! Not stay here and fight!" he said annoyingly. Kaoru didn't even answer him as she took off to fight the rest of the men. Not knowing what to do, the man fought as well in hope that they'll both make it out alive. But luck didn't seem to be on their side when he heard a loud crack; Kaoru's bokken was cut into two. He stole a glance at Kaoru to see how she was doing. One of the men took the man's dividing attention to his advantage and swung at him. The attack connected on his thigh and left a large cut on it. Before Kaoru could turn to see what has happened, the uncle landed the whip on her back, knocking her to the floor. Kaoru screamed from the pain she felt coursing through her back. The man winced at her scream as he tried to get to her and protect her from getting hurt. He stood before the girl as three men came with their sword attacking at once.

"Shit. This is going to hurt," he muttered as he tried to balance himself. He entered to the right to knock one of the guy out, but he was too slow when the other two swung their swords at him. He closed his eyes, ready to take the pain, but it never came. Instead a loud clash of steel rang through the alley. He popped open his eyes to see a short red-haired man extending his sword to block the attack that would've killed him. Suddenly the red-haired swordsman disappeared. The two men wondered where he went. Before they knew it, he was standing behind them pulling his sword out of their bodies letting them crumple onto the ground. He turned to the rest of the men.

"Leave before you experienced the same fate," he said in a deadly low tone. Most of the men took that a cue to leave, so they all scattered and left. There were a few men left standing there including the uncle of the little boy. _Either they're too scared or they are actually stupid._ Kenshin glared at him with his annoyance. Then the uncle finally spoke up.

"The little boy…he belongs to us," he gulped.

"Not anymore. He doesn't deserve to be abused by assholes like you." Kenshin said coolly. "If you want to fight about that, I will be glad to." With that said, Kenshin lowered himself to fighting stance.

"Kenshin?" A voice broke through the eerie silence surrounding the scene. There was a body lying on the ground. It moved slowly and turned to reveal the face to Kenshin.

"Kaoru!" To Kenshin's surprise, Kaoru has been laying on the ground near the man the he has saved the whole time. At first he thought it was just some girl, but now he saw the face and realized it was Kaoru. Seeing Kaoru on the ground hurt made Kenshin's blood boil. Uncontrollable rage ran through his body. _Damn fuckers...they'll pay for this shit. _

The men saw that Kenshin had his attention elsewhere, so they took that moment to run towards Kenshin and attack. _They must be stupid._ Kenshin caught their movements from the corner of his eyes. He took off with his god-like speed. Kaoru watched the event that took place in horror and amazement. She was witnessing the legendary Hitokiri Battousai kill. He moved with grace and speed, like a dancing a dance he knew so well. A dance of death. A minute later, all of them lay crumpled on the ground. A pool of blood formed around each of the body. Kenshin flicked his sword to remove the blood. He slowly sheathed his sword and slowly walked towards Kaoru. He knelt in front of her. His amber eyes leveled with her sapphire ones. Concern and anger filled his eyes. Without saying a word, he picked Kaoru. She gave a loud yelp when his hands touched her back. Kenshin grimaced when he realized he has touched her wound. He looked at the spiky haired man.

"Can you walk?" his voice was low and cold. His tone made it clear that Kenshin isn't going to take, "no" as an answer.

"Uh..yeah," he replied.

"Good, I need you to carry that boy. Follow me," he ordered. The man winced as he limped over to the boy and picked him up from the floor. His thigh was has stopped bleeding as much. Hopefully, he'll make it to wherever he was going. _So that's what the Hitokiri Battousai is like…_he wondered as he limped behind the Battousai.

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A/N: Whee! One chapter done! I'm already working on my next chapter! Okay okay, I know this story is slow, but I'm trying to make a really good scheme, so you readers won't be bored by the same thing happening over and over again. SO, please bear with me here. Hmm…so does anyone know who those characters are that appeared in this chapter? Hehe.


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